Keynote Address

Dr. Michael Lewell BSc MD FRCP(c)
UWO Associate Professor of Medicine
Regional Medical Director
Southwest Ontario Regional Base Hospital Program
London Health Sciences Centre
Ornge Transport Physician

     Dr. Michael Lewell, a native of New Brunswick, completed his undergraduate studies in Science at the University of New Brunswick in 1991. Michael then moved to London Ontario where he attended medical school at University of Western Ontario (UWO) graduating in 1995. A position in the Royal College Emergency Medicine Training Program followed at UWO graduating in 2000. Michael is now a staff Emergency Physician at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) and holds the position of Associate Professor at UWO.

Michael had been the Assistant Medical Director of the former London EMS Base Hospital Program up until last year, when with regionalization, he was appointed the Regional Medical Director of the Southwest Ontario Regional Base Hospital Program. Michael’s other career interests include being a Trauma Team Leader at LHSC as well as a Transport Physician with ORNGE.

Michael’s true passion is education. For the past 12 years, Michael has been actively involved with educating paramedics of all levels beginning from the College level straight through to the critical care level. He has received awards for his involvement in education both from UWO and from the Residency Program in Emergency Medicine.

NCCER 2010 is very proud and excited to present Dr. Lewell as the keynote speaker for the conference. He will be discussing the role of volunteer campus response from a top-down perspective as well as his roles as medical director and educator for regional EMS and provincial critical care air transport.

Chris Darby
London EMS – Supervisor, Duty Manager

     Chris Darby is a senior administrative officer for Thames Valley – London–Middlesex EMS. He is a long–time supporter and friend of the SERT team. Chris has participated in many aspects of SERT training and development; including several campus disaster scenarios termed the “Harmony” exercises, which included a mock campus shooting. He works as a supervisor for London EMS and often responds via the Emergency Response Unit (ERU) to serious incidents to coordinate resources.

Chris will be presenting two seminars at NCCER this year. The first will be a detailed tour of the London EMS ERU with an overview of the function and specialized equipment of this vehicle. The second will be a talk about the unique relationship and response agreement London EMS shares with SERT and how to foster and build upon strong EMS relations.

Chris Slabon
London EMS – Advanced Care Paramedic

     A SERT alumnus, Chris Slabon now works for Thames Valley – London-Middlesex EMS as an advanced care paramedic. He has participated in multiple SERT training initiatives including SERT’s recent upgrade to the Emergency Medical Responder level.

Chris will be presenting an interactive, hands–on session with one of the London EMS ambulances as well as demonstrating some of the advanced care equipment and drugs.

Steve Turner
Ontario Provincial Police Tactical Paramedics – Advanced Care Paramedic

     A UWO alumnus and former SERT team member, Steve Turner now works for London EMS and is a member of the OPP Tactical Paramedic team. A close friend of SERT, Steve is always willing to offer his expertise to further SERT training initiatives.

As a member of this specialized OPP team, Steve Turner has advanced training in tactical paramedicine and combat operations. He will be giving an introduction to tactical team operations and have some of the advanced equipment on hand to demonstrate.

Blair Bigham ACPf, BSc, MSc
York EMS, Ornge Transport Medicine

     Blair currently works as an advanced care paramedic for York EMS and also for Ornge transport medicine as a flight paramedic. He also works for Rescu, a prehospital and resuscitation research program based out of The University of Toronto at St. Michael’s Hospital. Blair is an active member of ACERT and acts as a valuable resource for many campus response teams.

Blair will be presenting a seminar about his role with Ornge. He will discuss the current critical care transportation model within the province of Ontario and have some of the advanced transport equipment used by advanced and critical care flight paramedics on hand to demonstrate.

Ornge Transport Medicine – Aircraft and Airport Base Tour

     NCCER 2010 is proud to present a unique and rare opportunity to get a hands-on, up close look at the most sophisticated patient transport system in Canada. Blair Bigham, an ACP flight paramedic with Ornge and ACERT board member has graciously organized and will be leading a tour of the London Ornge base and helicopter air ambulance. Space is limited for this special seminar.

A vital part of Ontario’s medical system, Ornge provides sophisticated medical transport for very ill and critically injured patients, in the air and on the ground. The majority are transfers between medical facilities, allowing the patient to access a higher level of care. Ornge also responds to 'scene calls' - with transport medicine paramedics responding to the scene of accidents or injuries, for example traffic accidents.

Constable Cory Rowsell
London Police Service - Collision Reconstruction and Traffic Services

     Constable Rowsell is a member of the London Police Services' Collision Reconstruction Unit. He will be presenting an interactive seminar, including picture and video examples, detailing the role of accident reconstruction at an emergency scene. He will also be covering an approach to secure a motor vehicle collision scene and the role of medical response and EMS personnel.

Sergeant Blair Harvey
London Police Service - Critical Incident Management System

     Blair Harvey has been a member of the London Police Service since 1996. As a Constable, Blair worked in uniformed patrol and crime prevention before becoming a Detective Constable in 2005. As a Detective Constable, Blair worked on the Major Crime Section and the General Investigations Section. After working as a Detective Constable, Blair returned to uniformed patrol where he was promoted to Sergeant. As a Sergeant, Blair has worked as a patrol supervisor and is currently the Sergeant in charge of the LPS Planning and Research Unit. In his current role, Blair is responsible for the LPS Emergency Management program which includes continuity of operations, community evacuation planning and incident management. Outside of the London Police Service, Blair has a strong history of volunteer service including over 20 years as a volunteer fire fighter where he is currently the District Fire Chief in the community where he lives. Blair was a volunteer with St. John Ambulance here in London for over 15 years during time which he served as the Director of the UWO SERT for the 1992-1993 school year.

Sergeant Harvey will be discussing the Critical Incident Management System employed by the London Police when dealing with large scale emergencies involving multiple emergency services. He will be focussing on the interaction between police and EMS personnel during such incidents. We are excited to have a former SERT member representing the London Police Service at NCCER.

Sergeant Ryan Craig
UWO Campus Community Police Services

     Sergeant Craig is one of the special constables at Western's Campus Police service where he heads up a squad of officers. He is a close friend of SERT and has participated in multiple training exercises with the team. Sgt. Craig often responds alongside his fellow officers to busy SERT calls to provide safety and support to the team.

CCPS function as SERT's closest partner in emergency response and have formed a unique and invaluable relationship with the team. Sgt. Craig will be presenting on this unique relationship and how to interact with and build relationships with campus law enforcement. One of the CCPS police cruisers will be on hand for a tour.

London Fire Department - Vehicle Demo

     SERT is proud to present the City of London Fire Department at NCCER 2010. London Fire will have an engine company on site with one of their vehicles. The staff will be giving a short presentation about the services provided by London Fire with a focus on their role at the medical scene. This will be followed by a hands-on tour of the fire engine and a chance to see some of the medical, rescue, and fire suppression equipment on board.

Careers in Emergency Response – Firefighting & Paramedicine
Matt Davis – London Fire Department

     Matt Davis is a first class firefighter with London. Before joining London, he was a professional firefighter with the Canadian Forces and as such has a diverse experience with medical response, the military, aircraft and structural firefighting. He also has a background in paramedicine and is familiar with fire, EMS, and military response.

Mat will be discussing the application and training process involved in becoming a firefighter or paramedic. He will also be focusing on the variety of career opportunities within each field and will be available to answer questions from the audience.

Careers in Healthcare - Nursing and Medicine

     This seminar will focus on the application process, training experience, and career opportunities in the fields of nursing and medicine. A variety of current and former SERT members who are nursing students, registered nurses, medical students, residents, and practicing physicians will be on hand to discuss these topics and answer questions from the audience. This is a unique opportunity to see how volunteer emergency response can play a role in shaping career ambitions in the medical field. A short presentation will be followed by a question and answer period providing a chance to get first-hand, practical knowledge about the application and training process for these competitive programs.

Sean Donnelly - Diabetes: The Patient Perspective

     The brother of SERT's previous Executive Director, Sean is currently finishing his final year of Aerospace Engineering at Carleton University. Sean was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2003. He has won multiple scholarships and awards for his advocacy and involvement within the diabetes community. He recently completed his licensing exams for his pilot's licence and is one of only a handful of type 1 diabetics in the country who have achieved this.

Sean will be discussing some practical tips for managing diabetic emergencies as well as commenting on some of the most recent treatment and testing options available to diabetics.